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Jazz Articles about Melvin Gibbs
About Melvin Gibbs
Instrument: Bass, electric
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar ToWadada Leo Smith: Fire Illuminations
by Mike Jurkovic
Eighty-one year old trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith comes out flaring like Bitches Brew era Miles Davis, as Fire Illuminations jumps the funk rock from the break of the muscular conflagration Ntozake." And the grunge jazz clips along as guitarists Nels Cline, Brandon Ross, and Lamar Smith vie, bite, sting, and quarrel over an insistent bass drum power-groove courtesy of bassists Bill Laswell and Melvin Gibbs, percussionist Mauro Refosco, drummer Pheeroan aKlaff, and the deep space electronics of Hardedge.
read moreWadada Leo Smith: Fire Illuminations
by Dan McClenaghan
Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith fronts lots of different bands and puts out lots of albums. After a busy period when he released five boxed sets, totaling 27 CDs, here he debuts his new all-star ensemble Orange Wave Electric, with the download-only offering, Fire Illuminations. As the band name implies, the sound is electric, featuring three electric guitarists, two electric bassists and an electronicist, joining the leader's horn, percussionist Mauro Refosco and drummer Pheeroan aKLaff. For comparison's sake--and using ...
read moreDave Douglas: Marching Music
by Angelo Leonardi
Gli intenti che stanno alla base del nuovo disco di Dave Douglas e la data di registrazione sono significativi. Come scrive il trombettista nelle note di copertina, il progetto è stato concepito come musica da ascoltare in cuffia durante le manifestazioni di protesta a favore del clima, dei diritti civili e di tutte le altre azioni a sostegno della giustizia sociale. Si potrebbe pensare che sia stato registrato nella primavera dello scorso anno, a seguito delle rivolte ...
read moreMelvin Gibbs' Elevated Entity: Ancients Speak
by Chris M. Slawecki
Bassist/composer/producer Melvin Gibbs is best-known among jazz fans for his run with the Ronald Shannon Jackson Decoding Society and among rock fans as bassist for what most devotees consider the best version of The Henry Rollins Band. Now leading his own band, Gibbs explores the Black Atlantic continuum" that runs from Harlem and NYC in North America through the American south, down through the Caribbean and into Brazil, on Ancients Speak. It's the randomness of the explosive situation, how this ...
read moreMelvin Gibbs Elevated Entity: Ancients Speak
by Glenn Astarita
Bassist Melvin Gibbs is a multi-talented and pivotal figure on New York City's downtown scene. On Ancients Speak, co-produced by renegade guitarist and experimental composer Arto Lindsay, Gibbs mixes a potpourri of African vocals, hip hop, Latin grooves, rap, and tribal chants, along with divergent stylizations that transform into a distinct entity.
Ancients Speak helps launch a new label, LiveWired Music, with a curious polytonal gumbo--yet Gibbs remains a merchant of good cheer throughout, providing a fluid undercurrent ...
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